Rule #1: Never Date An A.C.E. [COMPLETED]

Chapter 20: Rule #15: Act As Though You Belong And No One Will Question You

I cry until all the tears have dried up. I had hoped that once I cried, I would feel better. But the opposite is true—my sadness has dropped to an all-time low. I let Dylan rub my back lightly as I gather up my wits and wipe my face.

Dylan finally decides to speak up, "I am sorry for what they did to you. But sitting here in harm's way or going to look for them is not the answer."

I shake my head, annoyed that he doesn't understand, "What if this was you, Dylan? Would you sit around waiting for the inevitable, or would you be out there doing everything you can to kill the people who did this to you?"

"It doesn't matter what I would do," he says, a hard look on his face. "This is you we are talking about."

"What about me? The fact that I am emotionally scarred? The fact I am bloodied and bruised? Or is it the fact that you don't think I can do it?" I stand and turn toward him, my unwrapped feet feeling weird against the carpet. I glare at him as he glares back—it's a battle of wits and neither of us seems willing to budge.

He finally sighs, "It's not that I think you can't do it. I just want to keep you safe. I haven't done a bang-up job in that department yet, and I want to start."

"Then let me do this." I say placing hands on either side of his face. "The only way I will be safe is when each of the bastards have a bullet in their foreheads." Dylan sighs again, leaning into my left hand and nods slightly. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me yet, love," he says standing up as well. "We first need to find them."

I rub my hands together, "Then, let's begin."

--------------

We all had gathered in the den where Alex and Levi had set up their computers and were searching for any of the Three Princes. Flower had tended to more of my injuries and rewrapped my feet, worried about a possible infection. Vanessa had joined us a little over an hour after we started, but she didn't contribute much—just sat and watched. Her eyes were red rimmed, but I heard her laugh at a joke Boone told, so I knew she'd get better.

"Gotcha!" Alex exclaims gleefully and Levi looks over her shoulder and grins.

"What?" I ask, walking over to peer over her shoulder as well.

"Someone named Luca Kingsley just checked into the Turtle Hotel in southern California," Alex smiles. "CCTV caught Luca entering the hotel with a hooded figure that looked like a woman."

"I wonder who that could be," I muse. Everyone shrugs, but we quickly decide to pack and take our plane to California. We had contacted the Director and she sent the jet back to us, but this time it landed at the Aruba airport. I am the last the leave and reluctantly look around, disappointed I couldn't stay longer.

I feel kisses on my shoulder that lead to my neck and Dylan says, "Don't worry. After this is all over, we'll have a real vacation."

I roll my eyes, "Like Ace will let us go on vacation again after this one."

"I've got connections," Dylan wiggles his eyebrows and I roll my eyes again.

"Yes, yes, your mother is the boss. How could I forget?"

We close the door behind us and walk through the forest to the small bus that is waiting to take us the few short miles to the airport. We load on to the plane, with similar seating arrangements, but this time Vanessa sits in a single seat and Dylan and I take the couch. The flight is long, but the atmosphere is lighter than before. We have a lead, and it's more than we've had in a while. About half an hour before we begin our descent, Boone reveals a secret panel that contains a multitude of guns and knives behind it. Everyone chooses their weapon of choice and I'm left with two handguns and three knives.